The county assembly of Isiolo last week approved a gender bill that seeks to protect the rights of girls and safeguard their futures.
The bill, tabled by the chair of the women caucus in Isiolo Mumina Konso on October 13, was drafted with the help of the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association and the Center for Rights Education and Awareness.
According to Dickson Githinji from CREAW, the law will work address gender issues across various sectors in the county.
“The policy will put women and girls at the center of decisions made regarding harmful cultural practices like FGM and beading. This way, we can protect their rights and safeguard their futures,” he said.
For years, these practices have made girls and women in the county to fall victim to early marriages and pregnancies and in turn, they get stuck in vicious cycles of violence in relationships.
“These have consequently led to widespread gender inequality in decision making positions and contribute to emerging health issues among women,” he said.
The law, Githinji said, will also work to alleviate challenges experienced by youth, especially men and boys such as drug abuse and trafficking, radicalisation and recruitment into terrorism.
“We wanted to create a policy that really protects women, girls as well as young men’s futures. These cultural practices alienate women and girls so we hope it gives them back their power,” he said.
Alice Karoki, a women’s rights activist working with Isiolo Women Against Sexual Gender Violence, says that the policy will give power to activists like herself who champion the rights of women and girls.
“With this policy in place, we will be able to fight for women and girls in Isiolo without getting attacked by people who are staunch believers of these practices,” she said.
With the law on the side of women and girls, Karoki said, the work will be easier because people will be more compelled by the law than baseless words of persuasion the organisation used before.
Githinji hopes Isiolo will be an example to other ASAL counties that experience similar inequalities to pass similar bills to safeguard the futures of their people.
The bill awaits the governor's signature to be fully passed into law.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
